A/N: I know I said that colt and yn met in eighth grade but whuteverrrrr- ian :3
☆☆☆☆☆
Five Years Ago: Shiganshina/Trost
I woke up with the urge to throw up. Luckily, it was a quiet morning. My first day of highschool. In middle school, I wasn't the most social. I just had a friend or two. Never too much. And the people I was friends with weren't the most talkative or well liked either...
I was content at the time with not being a well known person. As long as I wasn't bothered. I hope that highschool can treat me with the same grace. But I doubt it.
I swallowed nervously as I stared at my ceiling, not wanting to get out of bed and face a new world that was other teenagers with lives that outshine puny freshmen like myself. I sighed before heading into the bathroom and getting ready for the day.
I came back out and went into my closet because I didn't excitedly pick out my first day of school outfit. I wasn't excited. I was shitting myself, actually.
I landed on casual jeans and a sweater with sneakers. I did my hair the best I could. I didn't want to look too messy for the first day. Just because it's my first day ever at this school.
Mom and Dad wanted me to go to another highschool out of our district because they said it increases the chances for better college opportunities. I want to go to Marley U. So, I hope that by the time I'm a senior, I did well enough.
I slung my bookbag over my shoulder before heading downstairs. I see Mom cooking a quick breakfast. My plate was already made. She looked stressed. Barely did her hair but she had her work uniform on. Dad watched TV on his chair that no one was allowed to touch or sit in.
Mom turns around and catches a glance at me. She approved of my outfit. That's good. I glanced at Dad before I heard Mom sigh. I sat down and began to eat my food.
"Can you get some eggs and milk before I come back from work or is that too much to ask for?" She asks Dad from across the kitchen. Dad sighs.
"Why is it always a fight with you?"
"I'm not fighting–"
"You are. If you would've just asked me without a fucking attitude then–"
"Don't cuss at me like you're my father. I ask you to do one simple task and here you go huffing and puffing–"
"I wasn't huffing and puffing I was just commenting on your slick ass comments. You're rude, you know that?"
"You sound like your mother–"
"Well, maybe it's because she's right–"
"I have to be in school in twenty minutes. Who's dropping me off?" I cut the two of them off from arguing further. They look at me before looking at the other person. Mom slams the dirty pan in the sink.
"Your father can take you." She storms off before going upstairs. I look at Dad, who watched TV.
"Are you gonna take me or do I have to take the bus?" I ask him calmly. He glances at me before standing up.
"...No. Let's go," He tells me before grabbing the keys. I stand up and take my bookbag before following behind him. I closed the door gently so that I didn't upset Mom. Dad unlocks the car and I get in the front seat before putting my seatbelt on.
This morning was humid and foggy. Early September weather was always short of nostalgia for school days. It isn't the first day if you aren't freezing cold and the sun shines on your face and the car windows are fogged up with condensation.
He gets in and turns the car on before backing out of the driveway and starts to drive off. He clears his throat before sighing.
"You do know where we're going, right?" I ask him. His eyebrows creased.
"What do you mean? You're in eighth grade, right?" He asks me. I sigh.
"No. I'm in highschool now, Dad. Freshman. Trost. Remember?" I ask him. He hums before nodding.
"Oh shit. You're right. I'm sorry. It slipped my mind. Wow, so I got a highschooler now. You nervous?" He asks.
"A little, yeah," I keep it short since I knew he didn't care all that much anyway. He sniffles from the weather before turning the heater on. He turns the windshield wipers on before taking a left and driving down the road. We didn't speak after that.
Once he finally found my new school, he parked in front of the entrance and waited for me to get out. I open the car door before unbuckling my seatbelt. I hop out of the car and put my bookbag on before looking at Dad, who looked ahead before looking at me.
"What?" He asks me, confused. I shake my head before closing the car door and facing the student filled entrance. I took a deep breath before walking straight inside and looking around. I approached the front desk and opened my mouth to speak.
"Freshman assembly is in the auditorium. Go down that hall and it's the big doors to your left." She didn't bother to let me speak.
I nod before walking past the front desk and walking down the hall as instructed. I see a large crowd walking in the same direction as me. I'm assuming these were the other freshmen.
I softly bit my bottom lip before approaching the doors and entering the large auditorium. I found a seat in the back where there were no occupying seats for the row. This way, people were sitting next to me and I wasn't the one sitting next to them. It makes sense in my head.
I put my bag down in front of me as the seats started to fill with other students who were just as confused as me. I took a deep breath as I observed friends seeing each other for the first time since before Summer break.
Or friends who were already attached at the hip since they hung out all Summer. Sports players and club members. A good mix of people who knew each other. Most of the people were from Marley too.
I fidgeted with my fingers as I looked down, focused on what I was doing in order for time to pass quicker.
I hear shuffling and laughing from a large crowd. I look up and to my right, seeing a line of kids getting ready to sit down in my row. I swallowed nervously before looking ahead, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.
"Lara is taller than Jacob. I saw it in the halls on our way here dude! I'm not kidding," A boy says to another one. All I heard was a chuckle. He didn't comment.
"You're gonna sign up for soccer this year, right?" I hear a girl ask someone.
"Yeah. I think so. Hopefully they don't discriminate against freshies," I hear a boy answer. This time, he was heard closer than the rest. He sat next to me. I swallowed, continuing not to make eye contact with any of them.
The assembly began when the lights dimmed. The scattered chatting was quickly silenced as the principal appeared in the front of the entire room. She began speaking about how we were welcomed and to not feel shy to talk to her or other teachers.
She spoke about school spirit and the standards that were set in the school that we must do a good job with trying not to tarnish. I didn't pay much attention other than just trying to get past this day.
I still felt sick to my stomach. I was a nervous wreck. I had no friends or even an acquaintance.
"I want each and every one of you to turn to a person you don't know and start with icebreakers. If you're sitting next to a friend on both sides then lucky you. But if you look and see a complete stranger, introduce yourself. Go ahead," She encourages.
"Hi, stranger," I hear the boy's voice to my right. I look at him, a little confused. I wasn't expecting him to actually speak to me since no one ever follows those kinds of instructions when it comes to icebreakers. I was thrown off guard.
He chuckled at my reaction before smiling at me.
"I'm Colt. What's your name? If you speak at all..." He teases me. My tense eyebrows raised with a small smile. I huffed before nodding.
"I do speak. And I'm Y/n," I reply. He nods.
"Pretty name," He compliments me. I swallow nervously.
"Thanks. Yours too" I tell him. He smiles big before laughing.
"You think so? Colt is a pretty basic name but thanks," He teases me. I chuckle. I look behind him before looking back at him.
"You seem to have a lot of friends. Are you from Marley?" I ask him. He nods with a smirk.
"Yeah. You're not?" He asks. I shake my head.
"Shiganshina. I'm here on a lottery," I reply. He hums, understanding.
"Ah, I see. So you're all alone. A little scary. You're brave," He tells me. I smile smally.
"Yeah. No friends. Kind of just want to ride this year out solo," I tell him. He chuckles before nudging me.
"Well, plan ruined. I'm your friend now," He tells me. I huffed before nodding.
"If you want, I can introduce you to some of my friends here," He adds. I glanced at his laughing friends before looking back at him, a little unsure. He nods, understanding.
"A little shy. I get it. Maybe later. Do you have your schedule?" He asks. I go into my bookbag and pull out a folder with my schedule. I hand it to him as he compares classes. He huffs with a small smile. He takes a red pen and circles my paper as well as his own.
"With A and B days, we got a good amount of classes together." He hands my paper back, already written and scribbled with his red pen. I observe it and smile.
"We have the same lunch period too," I comment. He looks at my schedule again before nodding.
"I didn't even see that. You're always welcome to sit with me if you want. But forewarning, my friends will be there. You won't be so hidden anymore," He teases me. I chuckle before nodding.
☆☆☆☆☆
The next day approached and I woke up less nervous than yesterday morning. Now that I have a newfound friend, things should be a little easier for me this year. And for highschool overall.
I headed downstairs and ate my breakfast, not paying much attention to Mom and Dad arguing again. I urged Dad to take me to school to stop the argument and he did. I got in the car and breathed out.
And without a question of thought, he took me to school.
I didn't look at him when I got out of the car. I simply walked forward and went inside with no thought.
I took my schedule out of my bag before approaching a security guard.
"Need some help?" He asked me. I chuckle with a nod. He grabs my paper and look to his right.
"Go up those stairs and you should be in the right hall," He tells me. I thank him before grabbing my paper and going up the crowded stairs, heading to my first class of the year.
Once I reached the top of the steps, I saw Colt, smiling and laughing with a pair of girls. He glances at me before approaching me.
"Hey. You found your way. We got confused as hell too. You're going into English right? We got that class together," He tells me. I nodded as I could feel the girls looking at me with smiles. He nodded to assure me before moving out of the way.
"These are my friends, Lara and Louise. Guys, this is Y/n. She was my auditorium buddy," He introduced me to the girls. They smiled at me before waving.
"Hey! Nice to finally have another girl in the group. Now we outnumber Colt and Willy," Lara jokes with me. I chuckle.
"Nice to meet you guys," I kindly tell them.
"It sucks that we don't have English with you guys but we'll see you at lunch!" Louise tells me. Colt nodded.
"Yeah. We need to head to class now. See you guys," Colt reminds himself before saying his goodbyes to the girls. He waited for me as I stood for a moment.
"You coming? Or do you skip? Because I didn't paint you out to be that kind of girl," He teases. I chuckled as I walked next to him.
"Nah. Who's Willy?" I ask him. He chuckles.
"He's our other friend. Total idiot. You'll meet him at lunch. He's nice. Meeting Lara and Louise wasn't so bad, right?" He asks as we head inside the classroom.
"No. Not at all," I reply. We look for empty seats and see the arrangement. No tables together. But there were four rows of individual desks. Two back rows with seats next to each other were available.
We approached the desks before sitting down in them. We looked at each other with a tang of excitement about what's to come in the school year.
"Yo, Colt! I didn't know you were in this class. Come sit over here," I hear a voice tell him from another row. He chuckled nervously before shaking his head.
"I'm good where I'm at, thanks. We'll talk after class though," He kindly rejects them. He turns and looks at me with a smile before the bell rang and class started.
☆☆☆☆☆
After classes, it was lunchtime. I didn't have the last class with Colt so I couldn't walk down to the cafeteria with him. Instead, I found my way alone. Which is never easy or fun. But eventually, I found it.
I got in line for lunch and decided on just getting cold cuts. I didn't want nasty pizza today. I wasn't hungry enough. I was still too nervous to eat. At least that's how I felt.
After getting out of the line, I looked around, not being able to spot where the group was. I see someone stand from afar.
"Over here!" I heard Colt shout as he waved his hand. I chuckled before approaching the table. Colt stood up, waiting for me. When I approached him, he smiled at me tenderly before looking at the other blonde boy that sat at the table.
"Willy, this is Y/n. My auditorium buddy. Y/n, this is Willy. The idiot I was telling you about," Colt teases Willy. I give him a small smile before nodding.
"Nice to meet you," I tell him. He smiles at me, nodding in return.
"Nice meeting you too, auditorium buddy," He calls me the same nickname Colt did.
I sat beside Colt and listened in on their ongoing conversation as I drank juice from the small carton.
"Lisa M already grew her pair of tits over the Summer and that's not fair! I mean, she was class A for losers and now she's all the boys want. A pair of tits can really solve a problem," Lara complains.
"Maybe people like Lisa M now because she's always been a decent person and highschool isn't as immature and mean as middle school," Colt commented. I huffed.
"I'll never forget when she kicked me in the shin during gym class," Willy reminisces. The table chuckled.
"To be fair, you deserved that. You were being stupid and threw a basketball at her head at full speed," Louise tells him.
"Ugh. Getting hit with a ball in gym class has to be the most embarrassing thing to happen to a girl in school. It's equivalent to getting your period and bleeding through your pants," Lara comments. I chuckle.
"When are soccer tryouts?" Louise asks Colt. He chewed his food and swallowed before responding.
"I think next week. I have to check again. I'm shitting myself though. What if I'm middle school good but not high school good?" Colt confides in his friends. Willy scoffs.
"You always have baseball then. We don't have a school team, right? Just do it locally. Even better. You'll blow those pipsqueaks out of the water," Willy assures him.
"I'm sure you'll do great. Just put your skills to good use and show them what you can do," I reassure him. He looks at me before smiling with appreciation. Lara and Louise smile at my comment.
"Do you play any sports, Y/n?" Louise asks me. I shake my head.
"No. I stick to studies for the most part. I'm not too active. What about you guys?" I ask the group.
"Louise and I do volleyball and cheer, Willy plays basketball, and Colt does baseball and soccer. Pretty active group over here," Lara tells me. I chuckle nervously. Colt puts his hand on my shoulder.
"It's okay if you aren't active. It's good that you focus on your schoolwork. It's hard for all of us when we juggle so much other shit. If anything, you're lucky," Colt assures me. I smile.
"Well, not as cool as being on a sports team but I guess it's a fair trade," I reply. He chuckles.
"How old are you?" Louise asks me suddenly.
"I'm gonna be fifteen in November," I reply. They nod.
"Late birthday. Colt's birthday was last month. August 12th," Lara tells me. I nod before looking at Colt.
"Happy belated birthday," I tell him. He blushes, a little shy, before chuckling.
"Thanks. Are you doing anything for your birthday? We can all hang out if you'd like," Colt suggests. I shake my head.
"No. Not doing anything. What are you guys thinking?" I ask the table. The four looked at each other before chuckling.
"We have this birthday tradition in our friend group," Louise begins.
"We go to the mall and at the food court, we tell them about a birthday for free food," Lara adds.
"Once we gather enough food, we sit by the fountain and eat the different food. Then, we get a cupcake from Frosties and sing you happy birthday as loud as possible in the middle of the mall," Willy finishes. I watched them before smiling, a small laugh coming out. Colt nudges me.
"So? Does that sound like a plan?" Colt asks me. I look at him and nod.
"Sounds like a plan. November 5th," I tell the group my birthday. They smile.
"April 3rd," Lara tells me.
"July 23rd," Willy tells me.
"April 25th," Louise tells me.
"August 12th but you already knew that," Colt comments. I nod, remembering all of their birthdays.
"Looks like my birthday is last. I'm the youngest?" I ask the table. They chuckled before nodding.
"Seems like it," Louise replies.
"Are we going home after Dad gets there or before?" Willy asks Lara. Lara shrugs her shoulders.
"Before. I forgot to do the dishes," She replies. My eyebrows creased.
"Wait. You guys are siblings?" I ask the pair. They look at me before laughing.
"Shit. I guess we forgot about that. Yeah. Willy and I have different mothers." Lara starts.
"But I'm a year older than her. I stood back in third grade. Also explains why we're so close in age," Willy finishes. I chuckle, nodding.
☆☆☆☆☆
October
I close my locker and see Colt on the other side, ready to scare me. He missed his chance by looking at my shoes. He looked up at me when he realized I was in front of him.
"Shit. I was gonna scare you...Missed the opportunity," He tells me. I smile.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of speaking to you?" I ask him as I walked alongside him to our next class.
"You know how I tried out for the soccer team weeks ago?" He asks me. I nod as I look ahead, being mindful not to bump into anyone.
"Uh huh. Did you get news back from them?" I ask. He nods with a smile.
"Guess who made the team?" He asks excitedly. I look at him with excitement, raised eyebrows and a big smile. I hug him with a chuckle before punching his arm playfully. He chuckles as he lets me go.
"I told you that you'd make it! You're good. Congrats," I tell him. He nods, flattered.
"Thank you, thank you. It was all thanks to the encouragement of the four of you guys. Should've never doubted myself," He replies as we walk into our class, just in time. We sit next to each other in our assigned seats.
"I was thinking...Since my first practice is on Friday, I want you guys to come to my first game of the season. I mean, I know the rest of the guys are going. But I wanted to ask you if you'd be down to come. Show some support for your auditorium buddy," He teases me. I watched him before chuckling.
"When is it? Do you know?" I ask. He pulls out a sheet before handing it to me.
"The schedule for our games. I made copies for the rest too. Just in case. It's on the 25th. You think you can make it?" He asks. I look at the paper before looking at him with an assured smile.
"Yeah, of course I can. I'll be there. You got my word," I tell him. He smiles tenderly before smiling.
"Alright. I'll take your word for it then. I'll get my jersey this Friday before practice. I'll tell you guys my number so you can wear it in the bleachers," He tells me. I nodded as the bell rang and class started.
☆☆☆☆☆
"Can I go to the soccer game tonight?" I ask Mom. She looks at me with creased eyebrows. An irritated expression as she held her fork, stabbing at the mashed potatoes she boiled from the bag.
"Soccer game? What soccer game is held at night?" She asks me skeptically. I shrug my shoulders before taking the game schedule paper out and handing it to her.
"I dunno. But I'm not lying," I assure her. She looks at the paper, snatching it as she eats her food. She puts it back on the table, shaking her head.
"No. It's too late at night. Who's dropping you off and picking you up?" She asks me passive aggressively. I roll my eyes.
"I'll take the bus earlier so I don't go alone at night. I have friends that could drop me off," I tell her. She chuckles mockingly because it was funny that I made a plan like that without her permission.
"What friends? Do I know them? Their mothers?" She grills. I sigh.
"Just say no. I don't need a lecture," I tell her. She watches me for a moment, pausing at the fact that I even said something.
"What did you say?" She asks for clarification.
"Jesus, is it hard to believe that she's made friends? Let her go to a school game. I'll drop her off," Dad defends me. She glares at him from across the table.
"Since when were you her public defender?" She starts to argue with him. He sighs.
"Just let her fucking go Lydia. What's the harm?" He argues back. She drops her fork on her plate before sighing deeply.
"...Fine. If she gets hurt or kidnapped I'm telling them it was your fucking fault. Go ahead," She passively tells him before picking her plate up and putting it in the sink. Dad looks at me for a moment as I put the paper back in my pocket.
"It's fine. I don't wanna go anymore anyway," I say before getting up and leaving for my room.
In the comfort of my own room, I open my closet and start to look for clothes for the soccer game. I don't sneak out. I never have. But I don't think it would cost me anything if I'm caught, considering the fact that I don't go out. Ever.
"It's like you want to plague our fucking kid with your craziness–"
"I'm the crazy one? Me? Okay fine! I'm the bad cop and you're the good cop. If that's what you want to think–"
"No one thinks that but you're being a fucking bitch to her for no reason. You're mad at me so stay mad at me–"
"Don't even act like you're fucking father of the year. Do you even know her birthday? What she likes? What grade she's in?"
"At least I'm not a dismissive bitch to her!"
"At least I give a fuck!"
"You don't." I sigh at the argument topic of the night; Me.
☆☆☆☆☆
I waited until Mom and Dad were comfortable in their own rooms with no chance to talk to me or check on me since they haven't stepped in my foot room since I hit middle school.
I put my outfit on: Jeans and a plain white tee since Lara and Louise have the jersey for Colt waiting for me. I told them I'd sneak out if my parents said no. The bus runs around this time and one of their parents will be able to drop me back off so I was okay.
I turned my lights off and slowly opened my window. I paused for a second to make sure I was still in the clear.
I look out of my window and look down to see the distance before grabbing two long blankets. I tie one end to one of the legs of my bed before throwing the other end out of my window.
I pull one more time before slowly climbing down the side of the house. The distance wasn't too far down so I wasn't too scared.
I hopped down and touched the ground. I huffed with a smile. I managed to sneak out successfully. I looked around and walked to the sidewalk and looked around before approaching a nearby bus stop to take me down the street from the school.
I sat at the bus stop for five minutes before a bus stopped by. I paid the fare before sitting down in the back of the bus and letting it drive off.
After about fifteen minutes, the bus stops down the street from the school. I get out and walk towards the entrance of the school. I see Louise and Lara waiting for me, talking amongst themselves and laughing.
They spot me with smiles and approached me as I walked inside the vacant area. They handed me the available shirt. I put it on and adjust it before looking at their matching shirts.
"Looking cute! For someone special...?" Lara asks me. My eyebrows creased before I chuckled.
"What? No. No one in mind. Why?" I ask the pair. They look at each other before chuckling. They shake their heads before grabbing my hand, leading me to the field behind the school.
"Has the game started yet?" I ask the pair.
"It's starting in like...Ten minutes. Willy saved our spots," Louise tells me. I nod.
Once we headed to the field, we headed up to the bleachers where Willy was before sitting by him. I look out on the field and see the players practicing. Lara points.
"There he is. Right there!" Lara points Colt out. I watch to where she's pointing and see Colt running on the field. I see him laughing with another player of the team before jogging back into the circle of other players to deliberate.
They all wore their mid length shorts with their jerseys and cleats. The school color; light blue and white.
We were near the field in our seats. About three rows back so Colt could see us. I sat down and watched as the players dispersed and prepared for the game.
"Good thing you made it. Colt was nervous as hell about you not showing up for his first game. You know, he's really taken a liking to you," Willy tells me. I chuckled as I watched the field of players.
"Really? I'm glad. I wouldn't miss his first game. He's been a good friend to me since I got here. And I got to meet you guys too," I express. Willy watches me for a moment before his gaze shifted back to the field.
Lara and Louise cheered loudly for Colt and he managed to spot them with a nervous face. He chuckled the best he could before glancing over at Willy and seeing me. His face lit up at the sight of me and he smiled at me before waving. I waved back with a small smile, cheering him on.
"Looks like he spotted you," Willy teases. I huffed before the game started.
The cheers from our school were loud and excruciating to listen to because of the volume. We didn't have cheerleaders or anything too special but the event was enough to get everyone excited.
I don't know how soccer works. Only that you have to kick the ball to the other teams net. I watched Colt here and there make a score or two. He ran across the field tirelessly as his hair dampened from the sweat. He breathed in and out heavily as sweat ran down his face.
He looked different this way. Attractive, sure. He's always been cute and I've known that. A nice smile, good personality. And a good friend overall. This makes a man attractive.
But when I blinked and saw him, I saw just that. There were no butterflies in my stomach that make me want to smile at him.
It was simply platonic feelings towards him. He's cute, yes. But he's my friend. And maybe this means I'm not ready for a relationship or it means that I'm not interested in Colt.
The crowd roared as our team made a score. I clapped and cheered as I looked around at the excited people. Lara and Louise cheered the loudest for Colt. The support was cute.
Time passed and the game ended with a win. We waited after everyone left to confront Colt after his teams victory. We waited alongside the fence to the field before Colt stepped out into the field and climbed the fence over to us. We cheered for him as he approached us with a humble smile.
He hugged the girls, who squirmed from how sweaty he was but nonetheless, they chuckled before he dapped up Willy. He sighed with relief at the sight of me before hugging me tightly. I chuckled as I felt his damp body on me. I didn't mind.
"I'm glad you came. I thought you weren't coming for a second," He tells me. I shook my head.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. You were expecting me so I had to deliver," I tell him. The group chuckles. He held my arm before letting it go with a shy smile. He glanced at the rest of the group before they cleared their throats.
"Is my mom still dropping you off, Y/n?" Lara asks me. I nod.
"Yeah. Is she here?" I ask. She shakes her head.
"No. She will be in fifteen minutes. We're gonna wait for our rides in the front," She tells me. I nod before following them. I felt Colt grab my hand and I turn around.
"Can you stay behind for a minute?" He asks me, a little shy. I nod, agreeing.
I sit next to him in the empty bleachers, the tall field lights still on and brightly shining. I watched him as he sighed, taking a moment to himself. He looked at me with a small smile and I waited for him to speak.
"...I just wanna say thank you personally for coming. It meant a lot. I thought you'd ditch me," He tells me. I chuckled.
"I almost didn't. But I snuck out so..." I trail off. He looks at me with concern.
"Seriously? You didn't have to do that." He sounded concerned. I laughed at it.
"It's no big deal. There's nothing to lose anyway. And I told you I wouldn't miss it," I reply. He huffed.
"It meant that much to you then, hm?" He asks. I nod before nudging him.
"Of course it did. I had to show out for my auditorium buddy. You killed it. Proud of you," I compliment him. He blushes from the compliment before chuckling.
"Thanks. I hope you don't have to sneak out for the next one though," He teases me. I smile as I stood up. He stood up after me, watching me.
"I'll try not to but it's looking like that's what's gonna happen," I tell him as we walked to the aisle exit.
I walked ahead of him but I felt his hand gently stop me, grabbing my arm once again. I turned and looked at him once more. He moved his touch from my arm to my hand before he held it gently. I looked down, watching our hands interlinked before I looked back up at him.
He gives me a small smile before taking a step in, leaning closer. I put my other hand out, placing it on his chest. He looks down at my touch before looking at me. We held eye contact in a close distance.
"...This is gonna sound embarrassing as fuck but...I've never...Kissed anyone," I admit embarrassingly. He watches me and chuckles. I look away, clearly not too pleased with a laugh for a response.
His hand gently glides on my chin, making me look at him. He held eye contact with me this time with a reassuring smile. Still small.
"It's okay. Makes it more special then, right?" He says in a quiet volume, only for me to hear. I blush, looking away before looking back at him. His thumb caressed the top of my hand as he held onto it.
Finally, he leaned into me, and our lips touched for the first time. He kissed me and I kissed him back as if it was muscle memory. It felt amazing for the first time. Fireworks going off in my head and my body. I wanted this.
He didn't want to pull away from me. I didn't either in this moment. But when we did, we watched each other for a reaction. Our cheeks tinted red from the Autumn breeze at night. Or maybe it was the kiss too.
We chuckled as we pulled away from each other, giving each other enough space to be comfortable. We stood for a moment before we headed to the exit. He grabbed his duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder.
"Good win today," I tell him as we walked to the trio. He huffed.
"Thanks. I got a good prize from it too," He teases me. I nudge him as we laughed, approaching them finally.
"Ready?" Lara asks me. I nod with a smile.
"Yeah," I tell her. I say my goodbyes to the rest before looking at Colt, a shared smile on our faces.
☆☆☆☆☆
November
Dad pulled up to the front of the mall and parked the car. I see Colt, Willy, Lara, and Louise waiting for me by the entrance with smiles. I smiled at them before turning to Dad. He watched through the window before looking at me.
"When do you want me to pick you up?" He asks. I look at the time.
"I was wondering if I can sleep over at Lara's house tonight," I reply. His eyebrows creased.
"Wh–It's your birthday. Your mom is already pissed enough that you're choosing to spend it with friends. Now you want me to go through another war just to get her to say yes to a sleepover?" Dad asks me rhetorically. I sighed.
"I'll tell her myself. I don't care. I'm sleeping over. Just let her know. I already dropped my things off after school anyway," I reply before hopping out of the car. Dad watched me head inside before eventually driving off.
The group hugged me excitedly.
"Happy Birthday–"
"Not yet. We aren't at the fountain," I stop them. They laughed before entering the building. Colt gives me a coy smile before walking next to me.
"Happy birthday," He tells me.
"Thanks. Fifteen never felt so good. I bet you know, old man," I tease him. He chuckled.
"Yeah, not so bad. Soon enough, I'll be sixteen with a license and a car and I'll be able to pick all of you guys up. No more parents," He boasts. I scoff.
"I doubt that's the case with me. My dad was on my ass about me sleeping over Lara and Willy's house. It's always a big fuss," I tell him.
"Whenever they stress you out, just tell me and I'll come get you then," He assures me. I smile at him before nodding. We go up the escalators.
"Alright, first food stop is definitely Mike's Pizza. They give you a free slice and it's huge!" Louise tells the group.
We nodded with motives before approaching every food stop that gave out free food. Finally, we pitched in all of our small increments of cash to buy five cupcakes from Frosties.
Now came the time where I would experience the ritual of birthdays with a friend group. I was happy and scared to admit that I was excited. I hadn't felt this excited for a birthday in so long.
Willy pulled out a candle and placed it gently on my cupcake. I smiled as Colt held out a lighter and lit the candle. We all sat alongside each other on the edge of the huge flowing fountain before the group quietly counted down.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR Y/N! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! WOO!" They screamed at the top of their lungs, causing heads to turn from every direction. I laughed uncontrollably from the volume in which they dedicated to sing to me.
There were some scattered applause and other confused faces but overall, it was harmless and extremely funny. After my laughing fit, I blew out my candles and Lara approached a woman across from us, sitting on a bench.
"Can you take a picture of us?" She asks. The woman nods and we all huddled together, posing for the photo. I laughed as I held onto my cupcake. She handed the camera back to Lara and we all saw the end result.
Willy and Lara fake fighting, Louise giving me the bunny ears, me laughing my head off with my cupcake, and Colt looking at me adoringly. The group laughed as I glanced at Colt, who looked away, shy.
After singing happy birthday, we ate all the free food given to us for my birthday and laughed about funny things. Stupid things. Things that didn't matter. I forgot about life for a moment and this year, it felt like a birthday worth celebrating.
I made new friends and enjoy their company the same way they enjoy mines. I go to soccer games and the mall alone. I sleep over at someone's house and sit with them at lunch. I can't wait to see what else we do.
After we stuffed our faces with varieties of dishes from different food spots, we waited for Lara's mom to pick us up.
"You don't have a phone at all?" Louise asks me. I shake my head.
"At all. I've been begging since seventh grade and they won't budge. It's so loser-like of me..." I tell them. They chuckle.
"It's not your fault that they're stubborn. You'll get it eventually. Just be patient," Willy tells me. I nod.
"I'm already getting impatient. It's been almost three years you know..." I trail off as Lara's mom's car pulls up. We all hop in and greet her before she dropped Colt off, who lived a couple houses down from Lara. Louise lived the farthest. And Willy and Lara primarily live with their dad.
I say thank you to Lara's mother before holding her and Willy's hand inside the house. We laughed and sang happy birthday to me as their dad sat on the couch. He watched us with a smile.
"Happy birthday Y/n! It's an honor for you to celebrate with us," Lara and Willy's father tell me jokingly. I chuckle, thanking him before we went into Lara's room.
"Alright. Colt's coming soon and then we'll all have a joint sleepover so–"
"Colt's coming?" I ask. They watched me.
"Oh shit. I almost forgot to tell you. Yeah, he sneaks over here and sleeps over all the time. Dad doesn't let boys sleepover, even if they're Willy's friends, because I'm here. So we sneak Colt in," Lara explains. I nod.
"I see," I keep it short.
Minutes later, Colt knocks lightly on Lara's window. Lara opens it before getting Willy to pull him inside. He sighs, adjusting himself as he puts his bookbag down. He closes the window and looks around before finding me.
"Lara explained, right?" He asks. I chuckle with a nod.
"Yes. You're in the clear," I reply jokingly. He huffs before looking at Willy. Willy stands up and sneaks Colt to his room so that they could play video games. Leaving Lara and I alone.
She channel surfs before looking at me.
"So...What do you think about Colt?" She asks me. I shrug my shoulders, unsure what to say.
"What do you mean?" I ask. She laughs.
"Don't act so oblivious! You know what I mean. Is he cute? Do you think so?" She asks. I chuckle.
"...I mean, yeah. He's an attractive dude," I admit. She chuckles.
"See, now we're getting somewhere. And he's a nice dude too. I've been friends with him since forever and he'd never hurt a fly," She boasts about him. I nod.
"Yeah, I figured," I reply. She watches me again before turning back to the TV.
☆☆☆☆☆
Lara slept in her bed peacefully while I read a comic she had laying around, still wide awake and unable to sleep. I heard a light knock on the window. Startled, I take my time checking. I sighed with relief seeing Colt.
My eyebrows creased with the sight of him since he was already inside. He spots me and urges me to open the window. I look around before unlocking the window and opening it, seeing him.
He smiles at me as he stood there, freezing from the late night weather. He sniffled.
"Come with me," He whispers. I chuckle with my eyebrows creased.
"Where?" I whisper back. He looks to his left before looking back at me.
"My house?" He asks. My eyebrows raised at his suggestion.
"Your house?" I whisper. He nods.
"My house. I want you to see my room. Did I tell you I have a little brother?" He asks me, still whispering. I chuckled before looking over at a sleeping Lara. I sighed before putting my shoes on and getting my jacket.
I hopped out with Colt's help and watched him as we walked feet away to his house.
"A little brother then? How little?" I ask. Colt kept his hands in his pockets.
"He's eight. Third grader. His name is Falco," He tells me. I chuckle.
"Is he a pain or is he a cute add on?" I joke. He chuckles.
"A little bit of both. I'll grow to like it. He's not old enough to relate to just yet. Can't wait until he's my age," He replies.
"I'm an only child," I tell him. His eyebrows raised momentarily.
"Really? You're not as timid for an only child. Even when we met," He comments. I smile.
"That's because I had friends before highschool," I reply. He laughs.
"Right. My bad. You're not a total loser," He jokes. I nudge him as he stopped on the side of a house. He looked up before looking at me. He points upward.
"That's my room. So close yet so far..." He jokes around. I huffed.
"Good thing we have this makeshift ladder. You wanna go first or me?" He asks me. I look up at the ladder before looking back at him.
"You go first," I tell him. He chuckles before mounting the ladder and going up first. Once he climbed into his room, he peeked his head out and looked at me.
"Come on," He whispers. I look at the ladder in front of me before mounting it, climbing upwards. He helped me inside his window. He pulled up his makeshift ladder before putting it in his closet. I looked around his room.
"Wow...Cool room," I comment. He sighs before locking his bedroom door and standing beside me, looking at what I was observing.
"Thanks. I worked hard to emulate my vibe..." He jokes. I chuckle.
"If you wanna sit on my bed you can," He tells me as he takes his shoes off. I take mine off and sit on his bed before laying back on it jokingly. He chuckles, falling next to me on the bed as well.
We turned our heads and faced each other with small smiles.
"You bring other girls over like this? That makeshift ladder is pretty impressive," I tease him. He scoffs.
"No other girls. I do it to sneak out. But you're the first girl I've snuck in," He informs me. My eyebrows raised before I smiled.
"I'm glad to be the first then," I reply. This painted a smile on his face.
"I'm glad I met you," He whispers to me. I watched him for a moment before huffing a smile.
"I'm glad I met you too." He watched me with utter admiration. I could tell. That's how obvious it was. And then he leaned in and kissed me. And we never stopped that night.
This was the night Colt and I took each other's virginity.
Naturally, after this, we had sex all the time. We found comfort in each other's arms for the purpose of knowing each other. This was real, we thought. We could do this and it meant something for us.
I wasn't sure what Colt was thinking. I don't think he knew what I was thinking either. But for the next three years, this was the routine. We remained friends...Maybe.
I wasn't sure if he saw it like I did.
☆☆☆☆☆
Present Day: Paradis. Y/n and Mikasa's living room.
"...Wow." Was all Mikasa could say. I nodded, staring at the floor.
"Yeah."
"Shit. So this is deep rooted as fuck. I mean I knew this but...Colt's in love with you...Or obsessed with you now. I don't even know," Mikasa tells me. I shrug my shoulders.
"I don't know either...Don't know what's gotten into him," I quietly replied.
☆☆☆☆☆
A/N: totally not a colt apologist and neither of u guys better be one either LOL because this is just a slight explanation but NOT a justification! he's still scum of the earth...anyway! see you guys next saturday! woo!- ian:3